Sorry, New York. Mumbai is the original city that never sleeps.
Although we admit we'd wear that title a little more proudly if not for the recent changes in drinking and eating laws that have altered our once-flamboyant, late-night lifestyle. Among the victims of the regulations curbing bar hours are the late-night food hubs that used to attract hungry packs of after-hours diners and debaters.
The good news is that a handful of Mumbai late-night food places have managed to stay busy despite the city's official bar/night club closing time of 12:30am -- which, as we all know, is more like 1:30am.
Below, our tribute to the places that are still keeping our kebabs hot and our not-completely-sober conversations rolling well into tomorrow.
Bademiya
What started 70 years ago as a late-night roadside eatery on a moving cart is now a Mumbai landmark, serving kebabs and baida rotis (eggs in traditional Indian bread) to opinionated crowds who sit at rickety tables, lean on the hoods of cars or just stand, in order to eat what could be the best post-midnight kebabs in Mumbai. No argument about that.
Bharat Dairy and Juice Centre
A sanitized, late-night vegetarian destination close to Marine Drive next to Bharati Vidya Bhavan College, Bharat Dairy and Juice Centre looks like just another hole in the wall. Ask your parents -- they'll tell you this landmark is known for salty South Indian food, chaat (Bhel and Sev Puri) and toasted take-away sandwiches. But it's most famous for its sickeningly sweet but delicious handmade ice creams, especially the roasted almond and sitafal.
抱歉了紐約,孟買才是最早的不夜城。
我們承認,如果不是因為最新的飲食法修改改變了我們一度放縱、夜夜笙簫的生活習慣,我們會更加驕傲的說出這個標題。飲食法修改的受害者就是那些提供宵夜的店鋪,因為它們曾經(jīng)最受晚點吃飯的人和辯論者的喜愛。
好消息是,盡管孟買官方規(guī)定酒吧夜店的結(jié)束營業(yè)時間是凌晨12點半,大量的宵夜供應(yīng)點還是堅持開到差不多凌晨1點半。
接下來,我們要感謝那些仍舊給我們提供熱騰騰的烤肉和使我們不大清醒的對話持續(xù)到第二天的店鋪們。
Bademiya
這間興起于七十年前的街邊宵夜食鋪現(xiàn)今已成為孟買的地標。它供應(yīng)印度烤肉和baida烤肉(傳統(tǒng)的印度面包包著雞蛋)給那些坐在搖搖擺擺的桌子邊的固執(zhí)的人群,或者依靠在車燈邊的或者只是站著的人們,他們都是為了吃到可以說是孟買最好吃的夜半烤肉而來的。
Bharat Dairy and Juice Centre(印地奶酪果汁中心)
一個衛(wèi)生的,提供素食宵夜的地點就是靠近Bharati Vidya Bhavan College旁Marine Drive的印地奶酪果汁中心,它看起來很像墻上的一個洞。問問看你的父母,他們會告訴你這個地標提供的是很咸的西部印度食物,chaat(Bhel和Sev Puri)和可帶走的烤面包做的三明治。不過它最有名的食物是非常甜但又很美味的手工冰淇淋,特別是烤杏仁味的和sitafal的。